A CROSSING OF A RIVER

If you are reading this you part of the resistance

December 1776 it was in this time that the American Revolution and its leader George Washington fell onto desperate times. The ragtag Continental Army was encamped along the Pennsylvania shore of the Delaware River exhausted, demoralized and uncertain of its future.

The British and Hessian troops had in August invaded Long Island routing the colonial forces, forcing a desperate escape to the island of Manhattan. The British then followed up their victory with an attack on Manhattan that compelled the Americans to again retreat, this time across the Hudson River to New Jersey.

The British followed in hot pursuit, chasing the Americans through New Jersey and by December had forced the Continental Army to abandon the state and cross the Delaware into Pennsylvania. Now with the British victories it seemed that the British would soon put down the Revolution.

Now to make this problem even worse for Washington the enlistments of the majority of the militias under his command were due to expire at the end of the month and the troops return to their homes. Washington had to do something and quickly.

Washington knew that he would need to do something as to give hope to the country and to encourage his men to stay and fight. His decision was to attack the British. The target was the Hessian-held town of Trenton just across the Delaware River.

During the night of December 25, Washington led his troops across the ice-swollen Delaware about 9 miles north of Trenton. The weather was horrendous and the river treacherous. Raging winds combined with snow, sleet and rain to produce almost impossible conditions. To add to the difficulties, a significant number of Washington's force marched through the snow without shoes.
The next morning they attacked to the south, taking the Hessian garrison by surprise and over-running the town. After fierce fighting, and the loss of their commander, the Hessians surrendered.

Washington's victory was complete but his situation precarious. The violent weather continued - making a strike towards Princeton problematic. Washington and his commanding officers decided to retrace their steps across the Delaware taking their Hessian prisoners with them.

The news of the American victory spread rapidly through the colonies reinvigorating the failing spirit of the Revolution. The battle's outcome also gave Washington and his officers the confidence to mount another campaign. On December 30 they again crossed the Delaware, attacked and won another victory at Trenton on January 2, and then pushed on to Princeton defeating the British there on January 3.

Although not apparent at the time, these battles were a decisive turning point in the Revolution. The victories pulled the languishing Revolution out of the depths of despair, galvanized colonial support, shocked the British and convinced potential allies such as France, Holland and Spain, that the Continental Army was a force to be reckoned with.

So why this story now, because it showed that even in the darkest days when all seem lost once again the real people of this country people like you and I took a stand for freedom. The government was not there to back them it was up to them to keep the dream alive. Can we not do this again and show that we understand the power of our vote.



So I ask you my fellow American to join me in the fight at “I am the resistance 2010” I ask that you think about what we can do with our vote and why it was so important that we had been given it. That we make one loud and clear stand and write in the vote or look to the outside of the parties for a real person some one that will take the job not because of power, but because it is the right thing to do. Sometimes it only takes one person to change the world in which we live. Please do not allow the real dream of this nation to be laid to rest without a real fight. Find people tell others and write in your vote. The message we send will tell the world that we are one country that believes in the people not the government.

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Jerry R Lucas
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